Billericay Town F.C.

History

Billericay Town Football Club started life in 1880 as plain old Billericay Football Club. They joined the Romford & District League a decade later and stayed there until the First World War, while also playing in the Mid-Essex League. They won the Mid-Essex League’s Division Two in 1912–13, 1931–32, and 1932–33, and remained in that league until 1947, when they moved to the Southern Essex Combination League. The club adopted its current name in 1946.

In 1966 they helped found the Essex Olympian League, and in 1969–70 they pulled off a league and League Cup double, repeating the trick the very next season. After those back-to-back titles, they became founder members of the Essex Senior League in 1971, finishing runners-up in its first season and winning the title in 1972–73. Another runners-up finish was followed by consecutive league championships in 1974–75 and 1975–76. That second season also brought their first FA Vase triumph, a 1–0 win over Stamford at Wembley, and their first Essex Senior Cup, a 3–2 victory against Epping Town.

The next season they finished third in the league but kept hold of the FA Vase, beating Sheffield 2–1 in a replay at the City Ground after a 1–1 draw at Wembley. In 1977 they switched to the Athenian League and won it at the first go. The 1978–79 campaign saw them retain the Athenian League title and claim a third FA Vase in four seasons, hammering Almondsbury Greenway 4–1 in the final; Doug Young scored a hat-trick, the only one ever in an FA Vase final at the old Wembley.

The following season they moved up to Division Two of the Isthmian League, winning that at the first attempt and earning promotion to Division One. In 1980–81 they finished as runners-up in Division One and went up to the Premier Division, becoming the first new club to achieve back-to-back promotions in that league. They stayed in the Premier Division until being relegated at the end of 1985–86. That kicked off a yo-yo period: they dropped to Division Two North at the end of 1988–89, were placed in Division Two after league restructuring in 1991, bounced back to Division One in 1992–93, and returned to the Premier Division in 1997–98 as Division One runners-up.

That same season they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 3–2 at home to fellow non-League side Wisbech Town.

Ground

Billericay Town F.C. first settled at Archer Hall in the 1930s, but the pitch there was never fenced in. The club moved to New Lodge in 1970, a ground that had previously belonged to Outwell Common Football Club. Money borrowed from Basildon Borough Council and Charrington Brewery paid for the enclosure of the site, plus the construction of dressing rooms and a clubhouse. Later in the 1970s, a covered standing area, nicknamed the Cowshed, went up on the clubhouse side of the field.

On the opposite side, temporary seated stands were brought in on loan from Essex County Cricket Club. In 1977, the club won a set of floodlights by beating Friar Lane Old Boys in the final of the Philips Electrical Floodlight Competition, a six-a-side event held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre the day after the FA Vase final. Those floodlights were first used for a friendly against West Ham United, which drew a then-record crowd of 3,841.

A permanent 120-seat stand was built in 1980 between the Cowshed and the clubhouse; its unusual shape earned it the nickname the Pacman stand. During the 1980s, a 200-seat stand replaced the temporary seating on the other side, and the supporters club put up several small terraced areas. In 1995, after Newbury Town went bust, Billericay bought two stands from their Faraday Road ground. One was placed next to the Cowshed, the other at the Blunts Wall End, where seats were later added.

The stand next to the Cowshed was soon shifted to the opposite end of the pitch. Covered terracing was also added alongside the 200-seat stand. Chelmsford City shared New Lodge from 1998 to 2005. In 2002, the club announced plans for a new 4,000-capacity stadium at Gloucester Park, but new chairman Steve Kent scrapped the move in 2004.

By the summer of 2017, the ground held 3,500 people, with 424 seats and 2,000 spaces under cover. That same summer, New Lodge underwent a complete redevelopment. Covered terraces were built at both ends, stretching the full width of the pitch. A new seated stand, named the Harry Parker Stand, went up next to the clubhouse, replacing the Pacman stand and the Cowshed.

On the opposite side, the seating was extended the entire length of the pitch. The overall capacity rose to 5,000, including 2,000 seats. A friendly against West Ham on 8 August 2017 set a new record attendance of 4,582.